Pumpkin Mascarpone Cheesecake Tart

Wow. That was a long week at home with the kids! It wasn’t as bad as I make it sound, they were quite self sufficient and didn’t bug me too much about anything, which is a relief. I did enjoy sleeping in and not having to make packed lunches and the like. My husband also had a nice stretch of days off so it tuned out to be quite relaxing, albeit quite unproductive, few days.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and that your own family didn’t drive you crazy! Of course, next up is Christmas and I see all the shopping craziness has started. Even though we don’t celebrate Christmas in my family, I love this time of year. I don’t like shopping during it, but I love the festivities; the colours, the twinkling lights and the food.

As a teen, I loved going Christmas shopping for my friends, and very often we would go together and have a fabulous time up and down Oxford Street. Many times, since we didn’t have a celebration at home, I’d go to my friend’s house at Christmas. So, I have a fond place in my heart for this time of the year. For me, it’s filled with great memories of good times with friends and great food.

I thought I would share this Pumpkin Mascarpone Cheesecake Tart I made for our Thanksgiving dinner last Thursday. It was a nice change from the usual pie but not so different as to not have the traditional pie flavours. I use the term “cheesecake” lightly, because though it does contain cheese, it’s only a smidgen and it’s not a very heavy cheesecake at all. I find this kind of a tart is nice when you have many other desserts on the table.

Pumpkin and fall flavours are still very much in season and this can be a great dessert for the Christmas table. I used a gingerbread cookie crust so it added a nice traditional holiday flavour. So, if you’re looking for a pie/tart/cheesecake for your holiday table, this Pumpkin Mascarpone Cheesecake Tart could be the one. It’s also incredibly easy to throw together.

Excuse the photos today, I took a few minutes out of cooking on Thursday to quickly snap a few on the kitchen table. I was afraid there would be nothing left the day after, I was right. If you’re interested, the other two pies/tarts are pecan tart and a banoffee (a banana caramel) pie.

I’ve been seeing amazing holiday cookies and treats on all the wonderful blogs and am looking forward to visiting you all now that I have time. I hope you are all having a great start to the week. This morning as I was struggling to get up for the kids, I literally counted the days to the winter break when I could sleep in again! I know, I know, two more weeks.

I love to hear from my readers so please leave me a comment! If you enjoyed this post please share!

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Comments

Pumpkin Mascapone sounds amazing. A pumpkin pie and a cheese cake combine. What could be better!?
My family did not have this holiday off, go figure they don’t celebrate this in China but our family celebrated it just the same. I can’t wait to try your pumpkin marcapone cheesecake tart next holiday. Have a super weekend and take care, BAMBam’s Kitchen recently posted..Holiday Baking Woes and Wonders

Look at that perfect ratio of filling to razor straight crust. Beautiful! I love this time of year too, but I must admit that I’m distracted by the lure of Thailand… 🙂 I have no idea what we’ll do for Christmas lunch, but that’s ok – sometimes keeping it a bit more relaxed and less planed is a good thing!Jas@AbsolutelyJas recently posted..In My Kitchen – December

Nazneen, I think the combination of mascarpone cheese, pumpkin purée and the spices makes for one delicious dessert tart. Personally, I adore tarts. I know that not everyone feels the same about tarts but they are often more elegant than cakes and most of the time taste so much better and are less filling as desserts! I love everything about this wonderful tart – it certainly would be a fabulous addition to any celebration dinner or lunch!
As far as the crust is concerned, I have made similar ones with Dutch spice cookies and Belgian speculoos cookies – I know that crusts like this are unbelievably good!
Have a fabulous Wednesday, dear friend!TheKitchenLioness recently posted..Burnt Sugar Almonds – Gebrannte Mandeln

Thank you my dear Andrea! I adore tarts too, I think it’s the European thing. I think they are elegant and sophisticated and looks like you spent hours making it. I also like that you use less filling and it ends up a lighter dessert as you said. I love them! All kinds! Have a great week my dear!

Hey, love the pie, beautiful and the layers are just very tempting.
I am totally with you on the same page about shopping, do not like shopping during this time, but it feels so festive.
Glad you had a relaxing break, I loved mine too, no packing lunches, no morning craziness and sleeping in a little bit.:).
Have a great week.Ash-foodfashionparty recently posted..PARISIAN HOT CHOCOLATE

Nazneen, not bad..you are getting to like pumpkin (unlike me)! Actually, if someone made me a pie like that and told me there was mascarpone in that, I would start to like it too. When I saw the first picture while scrolling down, I found myself wishing I was there in your house eating a slice of each of your pies…maybe two of the pecan tart:-) All of them look gorgeous! Glad you are enjoying a little break. When will it be my turn..sigh!Sugar et al recently posted..Nutella Filled Linzer Cookies

Sonali, can I tell you a secret? I still don’t like it 🙁 I make all these pumpkin things because everyone else likes them and it seems that the world is crazy for them! I bake whatever pumpkin thing, taste a wee bit to check my recipe for spices, taste and stuff, and then that’s it. I see everyone enjoying it so I know it’s good! But I don’t eat it!!

Nothing wrong with pies but a tart always looks and feels so special and elegant. I love the sound of the gingerbread crust with the pumpkin mascarpone filling. I can see how it must have been a big hit!Monica recently posted..Nutella-hazelnut crinkle cookies…’Tis the season!

Lovely looking tart Nazneen. Sometimes, lazy unproductive days are the best days – one needs to recharge batteries every once in a while.Minnie@thelady8home recently posted..Rich Rabbit Curry Indian style

Lovely! And it sounds like a great Thanksgiving was had by all. Yes, I used to hate making lunch every morning! My kids never wanted to eat what the lunchroom served!Abbe@This is How I Cook recently posted..Thanksgivingkuh 2013 and The Easiest Sugar Donuts

Nazneen – from the bottom of this crust, to the wreath of whipped cream on top, this looks like a tart that will definitely become a holiday tradition! I generally am a purist about pumpkin pie, but this one has me drooling! 🙂 I love that you enjoy the holidays even though you don’t celebrate – I feel much the same about holidays from other cultures, too. There are so many wonderful times to share and each one teaches us something beautiful about another culture…David recently posted..Getting Down to the Nitty Gritti (Palace)

Thank you David, you are too sweet. The tart is very similar to pumpkin pie, so I think you would like it. I don’t like the strong spice flavours that pie sometimes tends to have so the mascarpone was a nice mellow flavour. I can’t help but enjoy this time of the year!

My goodness, that tart looks like a work of absolute perfection! What an awesome job!
I agree with you, although I don’t celebrate Christmas, its hard not to get just a teeny bit swept up in the festive atmosphere (not to mention all the goodies).
Hope you are well daaaahling!
*kisses* HHeavenly recently posted..Diptyque Event at Liberty

Thanks H! It’s hard not to get swept up, everything looks so beautiful and here, we get the occasional snow flurry to add to the beauty, of course, as I type this, we are in the midst of an Arctic blast, it’s bloody freezing!

This may be one of the most beautiful and delicious sounding Holiday desserts I’ve ever seen. Dare I substitute it instead of my Mother’s traditional Pumpkin Pie??? 🙂 I’d love to try this. Pinned!Lea Ann (Cooking On The Ranch) recently posted..Apples on Horseback

I remember those trips up and down Oxford Street with friends and now the Glam Teens hang out there. It’s heaving now and even some years they’ve had pedestrian controls. Walking up on the left pavement and down on the right!! Now I shop locally or in the quieter parts of London which are just as much fun. Your tart looks great. Pumpkin and mascarpone would create a really delicious smooth filling. GG xxGlamorous Glutton recently posted..Silent Sunday

I can imagine it’s pretty bad! I went back a few years ago and couldn’t believe the throngs and it wasn’t even holiday time! It used to be so busy when I was there, can only imagine the state now. It’s a wonderful place to hang out though, I used to go to school in Harley Street so my lunch time, free periods, after school were all spent walking through Oxford Street. The #2 bus took me home 🙂

I love how this pie has a ginger cookie crust – I think ginger and pumpkin with spice go together so well. I don’t mine the photography – looks good to me; I just think your pie looks gorgeous and very celebratory xxHotly Spiced recently posted..Bells at Killcare